KEY DOCUMENTS
Company profiles, research tools, and resources to power your marketing plan.
Dog Supplement Co.
Company profile for the pet supplement brand
Hydrogen Wellness Co.
Company profile for the hydrogen wellness brand
Razer
Company profile for the gaming hardware brand
Data Room Appendix
Research standards, evidence rules, JTBD framework, and segment scorecard
MK201 Strategy Bot
Custom ChatGPT bot to help you with your marketing plan project
Research Library
Notion database with curated research sources and references
Learn STP + Positioning Workbook
Three helpful interactive examples to understand what to submit in Part 3
Dealing with Group Dynamics Workbook
Required survey for each group member—teaches about group dynamics and responsibility
THE SIX PARTS
Each one builds on the last. Click any card to jump to the full breakdown.
Situational Analysis
Find the facts. Explain why they matter. Tell the company what to do about it.
SWOT + PESTEL
Sort your facts into what helps, what hurts, what’s out there, and what’s coming.
STP + Positioning
Pick who you’re going after and explain why they’ll believe you.
Branding
Show what the brand looks, sounds, and feels like — and why those choices match your target.
Customer Journey
Map exactly how a customer goes from stranger to repeat buyer, and where they might drop off.
Marketing Plan + Pitch
Put it all together, pitch it like a consultant, and prove every dollar is worth spending.
THE TIMELINE
Every deadline at a glance. Submission 6 is broken into checkpoints so you're never scrambling at the end.
Submissions 1 & 2 due together
Sub 6 checkpoint — submit your rough plan idea for feedback
Sub 6 checkpoint — hi-fi mockups, slide structure, text & speaker assignments
MK201-EN · 8:00–9:15 AM
MK201-EN · 8:00–9:15 AM
MK201-A · 8:00–9:15 AM
MK201-B · 8:00–9:15 AM / MK201-EN · 8:30–10:30 AM
MK201-A · 8:00–9:15 AM
MK201-A · 8:30–10:30 AM / MK201-B · 8:00–9:15 AM
MK201-B · 8:30–10:30 AM
Situational Analysis
WHAT IS THIS?
Think of this as building the foundation of a house. Before you can get creative with the design, you need to understand the landscape. This submission is all about research and proving you understand the market using hard evidence. You’re not expected to have creative ideas yet — you’re demonstrating your ability to analyze the current situation.
HOW IT CONNECTS
This is the bedrock. Everything you write in later submissions will reference the facts, data, and insights you gather here. If this foundation is weak, the rest of your project will be too.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- Write in narrative form — this is a professional paper, not a bullet-point outline.
- “I think” is not evidence. Every claim needs a source.
- If you use AI, you must verify every fact it generates and document it in your Prompt Library.
SWOT + PESTEL
WHAT IS THIS?
Now that you’ve gathered all your research, it’s time to organize it. This submission is about sorting your findings into two strategic frameworks — SWOT and PESTEL — to identify where your company is strong, where it’s weak, what opportunities exist, and what threats are on the horizon.
HOW IT CONNECTS
Every fact from Submission 1 should land somewhere in your SWOT or PESTEL. If a fact doesn’t fit anywhere, it probably wasn’t useful. If a SWOT box is empty, you probably missed something in your research.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- Every fact from Sub 1 should find a home in SWOT or PESTEL.
- Internal = company controls it. External = company cannot control it.
- The Bridge Paragraph is your most important paragraph — it sets up everything that follows.
STP + Positioning
WHAT IS THIS?
With your research organized, it’s time to make your first major strategic decision: who are you going to target, and how do you want them to see your brand? This is where you shift from being a researcher to being a strategist.
HOW IT CONNECTS
Your SWOT Opportunity from Submission 2 should point you toward a segment. Your Situational Analysis evidence should justify why that segment is winnable.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- “Everyone” is not a segment. Be specific about who you’re targeting.
- If your positioning statement works with a competitor’s name swapped in, it’s not differentiated enough.
- Your JTBD barriers should come from real research, not assumptions.
Branding
WHAT IS THIS?
You’ve decided who you’re targeting and how you want to be positioned. Now you’re building the visual and verbal identity that brings that positioning to life. This isn’t about making things look pretty — it’s about making strategic choices about how the brand looks, sounds, and feels so that your target segment trusts it.
HOW IT CONNECTS
Every visual and verbal choice must trace back to your positioning statement and your target segment’s needs and barriers from Submission 3.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- Every design choice should answer: “Why does this help our target segment trust us?”
- Your “We say / We don’t say” table is critical — it shows you understand compliance.
- Moodboard images need captions. No image without a reason.
Customer Journey
WHAT IS THIS?
This submission is about mapping the exact path your target customer takes from first hearing about your product to becoming a loyal advocate. Every stage must include what the customer is doing, what the company is doing, what could go wrong, and what content or touchpoint they encounter.
HOW IT CONNECTS
Your target segment (Sub 3) determines who is on this journey. Your branding (Sub 4) determines what they see along the way. Your channel and pricing research (Sub 1) determines where this journey happens.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- Drop-off risks should be specific to your category, not generic marketing risks.
- Primary data is required — you must talk to or survey real people.
- Your funnel metrics should be internally consistent. If 1000 people see your ad, the math should add up through each stage.
Marketing Plan + Pitch
WHAT IS THIS?
This is the final deliverable. Everything you’ve built all semester — the research, the SWOT, the target, the positioning, the brand, the journey — comes together into one marketing plan that you present as if you’re pitching to the CEO who hired you. This is a $100,000 consulting engagement. Act like it.
HOW IT CONNECTS
If you did Submissions 1-5 well, this deck writes itself. If you skipped steps or used weak evidence, it will show.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
INTERACTIVE EXAMPLES
Three helpful interactive website examples to understand what to submit in Part 3 of your marketing plan.
DON'T MESS THIS UP
- If you did Submissions 1-5 well, this deck practically writes itself.
- Hi-fi mockups must look real — not wireframes, not sketches.
- Every team member must present. Practice your transitions.
- Be ready to defend every number and every choice during Q&A.
THE POINTS
Your marketing plan is worth 500 points total across all six submissions.